Darlene Cates, the mom in 'What's Eating Gilbert Grape,' dies at 69

NEW YORK (AP) — Darlene Cates, who played the housebound mother in the 1993 film What's Eating Gilbert Grape, has died.

Cates died in her sleep Sunday morning at her home in Forney, Texas, according to her son-in-law, David Morgan. She was 69.

Cates was cast in the film as the morbidly obese mother of Johnny Depp, in the title role, and his younger brother, played by Leonardo DiCaprio.

She had been spotted by the film's screenwriter, Peter Hedges, when she appeared on the Sally Jessy Raphael talk show, for an episode called "Too Heavy to Leave Their House," where she discussed her struggles with her weight and her self-imposed imprisonment due to her weight.

She lost and gained hundreds of pounds over the years, at one point weighing more than 500 pounds.

The 1993 film, directed by Lasse Hallstrom, won acclaim for its sensitive portrayal of a troubled but loving family in a small Iowa town.

Cates later appeared on episodes of the series Picket Fences and Touched By an Angel.

According to her IMDb page, she was the wife of a postal worker, with three children and four grandchildren.